Published: Wednesday, September 19, 2007 at 2:42 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, September 19, 2007 at 6:17 a.m.

LAKELAND - There's an old story that the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed fountain built in 1948 at Florida Southern College was cut off because it doused everyone near it.

Facts

NUMBERS

45: Feet high dome-style fountain will sit in the pool.

1928: Year original pool was built.

$700,000 The amount it cost to restore pool and put the fountain in.

But that tale is all wet, said Jeff Baker, an architect in charge of restoring the fountain.

"We've done a lot of research," he said. "They tried their hardest, but it never worked. We certainly haven't found any credible evidence that it ever worked."

Wright envisioned a 45-foot high dome-style fountain for the pool, just south of the campus library. And that's finally what's going to happen.

FSC has planned a huge celebration Oct. 25 when the water dome will be turned on in all its originally planned glory. A Discovery Channel crew is expected to tape a story about the water dome.

Baker said the fountain's failure wasn't because of the student labor that was used to build it. Back then, college students across America worked on campus building projects to pay their tuition. And the FSC students working on the fountain had good supervisors, Baker said.

He said it never worked because pumps of that era weren't capable of doing what Wright envisioned. Today's pump technology is up to the task.

Lee Mayhall, a spokeswoman for the school, said FSC found nothing in The Ledger about the water dome's previous opening. She said the event was touted in The Tampa Tribune a week before it was to happen.

"And they never mentioned it again," she said. "Not the day after. Not a week after. Nothing."

That the fountain never worked is confirmed by Mel Wooton, 89, a longtime drama teacher at FSC who graduated from the school in 1948 and now lives in Atlanta. He said the fountain was in the middle of everything. "You had to walk past it every day, all the time."

"It never did work." Wooton said. "They didn't have much money. It was slim times. But I'm glad they're going to do this and get it right. For 700 grand, that fountain should be incredible," he said.

A state grant of $350,000 was matched by the Clayton Hollis family. Hollis, an alumnus and trustee, also made an additional gift to establish an endowment for maintenance of the water dome.

Another trustee, Joe Ruthven, and his wife Judy, are springing for water dome landscaping.

Some years later, it's unclear when, a concrete top was installed on the pool with holes for smaller ponds with shallow fountains. And at some point the school added colorful Japanese koi fish to the mix.

About a year ago, the restoration began with breaking up the concrete and examining the pipes. One thing workers found in the pool was a huge alligator.

A period of inactivity followed as architects and engineers plotted a way to do Wright's dream right.

The work has been in full swing now for a few months, and Baker promises the water dome will be finished for the grand opening celebration.

"We have to do it," he said. "We're committed to it."

[ Rick Rousos can be reached at rick.rousos@theledger.com or 863-802-7516. ]

<p><em>LAKELAND</em> - There's an old story that the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed fountain built in 1948 at Florida Southern College was cut off because it doused everyone near it.</p><p>But that tale is all wet, said Jeff Baker, an architect in charge of restoring the fountain.</p><p>"We've done a lot of research," he said. "They tried their hardest, but it never worked. We certainly haven't found any credible evidence that it ever worked."</p><p>Wright envisioned a 45-foot high dome-style fountain for the pool, just south of the campus library. And that's finally what's going to happen.</p><p>FSC has planned a huge celebration Oct. 25 when the water dome will be turned on in all its originally planned glory. A Discovery Channel crew is expected to tape a story about the water dome.</p><p>Baker said the fountain's failure wasn't because of the student labor that was used to build it. Back then, college students across America worked on campus building projects to pay their tuition. And the FSC students working on the fountain had good supervisors, Baker said.</p><p>He said it never worked because pumps of that era weren't capable of doing what Wright envisioned. Today's pump technology is up to the task.</p><p>Lee Mayhall, a spokeswoman for the school, said FSC found nothing in The Ledger about the water dome's previous opening. She said the event was touted in The Tampa Tribune a week before it was to happen.</p><p>"And they never mentioned it again," she said. "Not the day after. Not a week after. Nothing."</p><p>That the fountain never worked is confirmed by Mel Wooton, 89, a longtime drama teacher at FSC who graduated from the school in 1948 and now lives in Atlanta. He said the fountain was in the middle of everything. "You had to walk past it every day, all the time."</p><p>"It never did work." Wooton said. "They didn't have much money. It was slim times. But I'm glad they're going to do this and get it right. For 700 grand, that fountain should be incredible," he said.</p><p>A state grant of $350,000 was matched by the Clayton Hollis family. Hollis, an alumnus and trustee, also made an additional gift to establish an endowment for maintenance of the water dome.</p><p>Another trustee, Joe Ruthven, and his wife Judy, are springing for water dome landscaping.</p><p>Some years later, it's unclear when, a concrete top was installed on the pool with holes for smaller ponds with shallow fountains. And at some point the school added colorful Japanese koi fish to the mix.</p><p>About a year ago, the restoration began with breaking up the concrete and examining the pipes. One thing workers found in the pool was a huge alligator.</p><p>A period of inactivity followed as architects and engineers plotted a way to do Wright's dream right.</p><p>The work has been in full swing now for a few months, and Baker promises the water dome will be finished for the grand opening celebration.</p><p>"We have to do it," he said. "We're committed to it."</p><p>[ Rick Rousos can be reached at rick.rousos@theledger.com or 863-802-7516. ]</p><p><empty></p><p><empty></p><p><empty></p><p><empty></p>